1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems generally and more particularly to the field of electronic mail messaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
People receive many and various kinds of e-mail messages every day. Different messages require different actions by users. Most e-mail messages must be read, but not all. Some messages serve as simple notices. The subject alone tells the user all they need. Shipping notices from online stores fall into this category. Spam e-mail messages only require deletion, but many e-mail messages require the user to read them. Of those messages, some require responses.
Managing the standard inbox and keeping track of which e-mail messages are unread, those that have been read, those that require responses and that those that have already been answered may be part of a user's daily routine.
E-mail client programs provide various levels of functionality in regards to handling e-mails. A thin client is a piece of software that is designed to be very small, and therefore relies upon a server to perform most system functions and data processing. A thin e-mail client therefore relies upon an e-mail server to manage most of the processing associated with e-mail messages.
Web browser based e-mail clients are generally thin clients. With each program session these clients may download and display the headers for the current set of messages stored on the server. The user can then use the information displayed about the sender, received date, subject and other data to choose which e-mail messages to view. Once the user has requested to view the body of, or “opened” a specific e-mail message, the thin client may download the full message content from the server. In general, thin clients do not store the actual messages contents beyond the current program session.
Other clients, sometimes called “thick” or “fat” clients, perform much of the processing associated with e-mail messages themselves. Generally they will periodically download entire messages, including full message content, from an e-mail server and store them locally. This allows users to view messages even when not connected to the e-mail server. These clients typically do not rely upon the server to provide any statistics about e-mail messages other than informing the client about new messages that can be downloaded.